Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Pomona Senior Theses Pomona Student Scholarship 2017 Social Sustainability: The Role of Ecotourism in Regenerating Cultural and Environmental Histories in Rio de Janeiro Nia McAllister Pomona College Recommended Citation McAllister, Nia, "Social Sustainability: The Role of Ecotourism in Regenerating Cultural and Environmental Histories in Rio de Janeiro" (2017). Pomona Senior Theses. 173. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/173 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Pomona Student Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pomona Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Social Sustainability: The Role of Ecotourism in Regenerating Cultural and Environmental Histories in Rio de Janeiro Nia McAllister In Partial Fulfillment of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Analysis 2016-2017 academic year, Pomona College, Claremont, California Readers: Professor Francisco Dóñez Professor Zayn Kassam Acknowledgments First I would like to thank my thesis readers Professor Zayn Kassam and Professor Francisco Dóñez for their continual encouragement, guiding wisdom, and critical feedback throughout the thesis writing process. I would also like to thank Professor Char Miller, my unofficial reader who always provided detailed feedback and constant enthusiasm throughout the entire thesis journey. I am extremely grateful to Pomona College for awarding me the Oldenborg International Research and Travel Grant which provided me the funding and opportunity to return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to conduct the interviews for my thesis research. In addition, I would like to thank Nayana Corrêa Bonamichi for assisting with transcribing my research interviews and the Academic Dean’s Office at Pomona College for providing funds to underwrite the transcription. This thesis would not have been complete without the people who welcomed me into their communities and shared their stories with me. They continually inspire me with the important work they are doing within their communities in Brazil: Eu quero agradecer meus amigos Adilson Almeida, Otávio Barros, e Thais Pinheiro. Obrigadão! I want to acknowledge Theresa Williamson and the exceptional work that her organization Catalytic Communities is doing in partnership with community leaders in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. My experience writing for RioOnWatch initiated my interest in community-based ecotourism and inspired my return to Rio de Janeiro to conduct research for this thesis. And finally, thank you to my loved ones: my friends and family that have been constant roots in my life, giving me words of encouragement and supporting me through it all. 2 Abstract Ecotourism is a rapidly growing global export industry that aims to uphold the ethics of responsible tourism by engaging with local communities and encouraging environmentally conscious travel. With existing critiques of the greenwashing of ecotourism and the tendency for tourism agencies to exploit host communities, I advocate for participatory community-based models of ecotourism. This thesis explores both the material and conceptual benefits of community-based ecotourism through the critical examination of community-based ecotourism projects in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Focusing on the implementation of ecotourism in of some of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheral communities, areas that are impacted by social and spatial marginalization, this thesis argues that the cultural and environmental history of a location are inseparable. When ecotourism is participatory and community-based, it can be a method for sharing cultural and environmental knowledge. Exploring the parallels between environmental justice toxic tourism and community-based ecotourism, this thesis examines the extent to which ecotourism can be used as a tool for social justice, serving to valorize the land histories and lived experiences of communities. Beyond generating money for host communities, the case studies of participatory ecotourism demonstrate the potential for ecotourism to serve as a platform for advocating for land rights in historically marginalized communities. 3 Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….5 Chapter 1: A History of Rio de Janeiro’s Divided Landscape……………………………......9 Chapter 2: The Ethics of Ecotourism…………………….…………………………………..16 Chapter 3: Community-Based Ecotourism Projects in Action………………………………29 Chapter 4: Lessons in Reciprocity, Advice for the Responsible Tourist……………….........51 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...58 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………….60 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………....63 4 Introduction “would you still want to travel to that country if you could not take a camera with you. -a question of appropriation”1 Nayyirah Waheed, Salt Driven by the passion for learning from people and places outside of what I call home, I value travel and all that it can teach me, while acknowledging that it is not something that is accessible to all. I am wary of the implications of tourism when those with the privilege to travel use their temporary occupancy in a foreign country as inspiration for their next photo opportunity, too focused on their own leisure to engage with and learn from the people and the environments playing host to their comfort. While studying in Rio de Janeiro Brazil in the fall of 2015, I was consistently navigating my position as a student, a tourist, a researcher, and a traveler. The process of confronting the privileges associated with those positions compelled me to think more critically about what responsible tourism looks like. Through this thesis I explore the potential for positive models of responsible tourism, focusing specifically on community-based ecotourism. As a more participatory form of tourism, community-based ecotourism allows the host community greater agency and direct involvement in the process of developing tourism in their community. This works to benefit and prioritize the needs of the community as well as generating fiscal returns that will benefit the residents directly. Without intentional collaboration with local communities, ecotourism risks the continued exploitation of the environment and the local residents. Profits and community narratives are frequently compromised when third-party for-profit ecotourism groups do not 1 Nayyirah Waheed, Salt (United States: CreateSpace, 2013) 5 consult with local communities. For responsible tourism to be mutually beneficial for both tourists and the host community, careful assessment is needed to determine how profits are being distributed and the extent to which host community consent is involved in the planning and implementation processes. Setting ecotourism within the context of some of Rio de Janeiro’s marginalized communities, this investigation of models of community-based ecotourism considers the social, cultural, and environmental conditions necessary to place control in the hands of the communities themselves. The role of favelas as informal settlements within the spatial geography of Rio de Janeiro presents a case grounded in issues of inaccessibility to public services, increased environmental burdens, and limits to agency within marginalized communities. Focusing efforts towards caring for the natural environment as an extension of residential neighborhoods, community-based ecotourism can act as a form of critical engagement and environmental education for community members and tourists. Favelas and other peripheral communities in Rio de Janeiro have implemented ecotourism projects that can be seen as positive examples of participatory tourism. Within this research I centralize the idea that cultural and environmental histories are inseparable. In addition, I propose that the practice of developing community-based ecotourism in peripheral neighborhoods has the potential to be used as a tool for valorizing cultural and environmental histories of the land. I believe that the active inclusion of residents in ecotourism projects can allow for increased community agency and will facilitate a socially responsible practice that strengthens ties between people and the natural environment while simultaneously supporting local economies. I also argue that for historically marginalized communities, 6 community-based ecotourism can be used as a tool for asserting land rights and valorizing the cultural and environmental history of a place. I acknowledge that my position as a student researcher and a tourist complicates my critique of the tourism industry in Rio de Janeiro. This investigation will be layered with my own experiences of grappling with being a foreigner participating in the tourism industry while conducting this research about it. My understanding of the history, urban dynamics, and social and spatial divides in Rio de Janeiro was greatly facilitated by my involvement as a journalist with the non-profit organization Catalytic Communities. The organization works directly with the city’s informally settled communities known as favelas, sharing the narratives of favela residents through a news platform designed to center their perspectives. While working with Catalytic Communities during my semester abroad and in the summer of 2016 I wrote articles for the online news platform RioOnWatch, covering events and community-based projects related to environmental justice and sustainability.